A Few Small Adjustments
by lilmm
Summary: Burt and Carole each raised a son practically on their own. Raising a daughter together should be a piece of cake. Part of my Nest verse.
1. Family Time

**paddyofurniture promp****ted (among other things): "Burt and Carol adapting to parenting a youngster again."**

**My niece was born this past Monday (in a way eerily reminiscent of the way Susan was born in ExtN - she's fine just like Susan is, it was just weird how things worked out), so I'm kind of going to be using this fic to come to terms with having a new baby in my own life. At the moment I have no intention of these chapters linking up into any cohesive narrative, they'll simply be anecdotes or things I find interesting/amusing/etc. about adjusting to life with a baby/toddler.**

**I don't own Glee.**

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><p>"So that's what girls look like down there," Kurt mused as Burt expertly changed Susie's diaper. Burt glanced over to where Carole lay on the hospital bed and shared a smirk with her. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Blaine trying to hide a smile on the other side of the room where he shared the couch with an uneasy-looking Finn.<p>

"Well, they do change a bit as they get older," Burt replied. "But yeah, that's basically what girls look like."

"Huh. Weird." Kurt blinked disinterestedly and went back to sorting through the assortment of onesies he and the boys had brought from home. Burt allowed himself to chuckle but refrained from clapping his son on the shoulder; Kurt would definitely glare at him and in the frame of mind he was in today Burt's best comeback would be to beam stupidly. Of course he suspected he was doing that anyway, but he'd still rather his son respect him at least a little bit.

With a familiarity that felt a little odd after not doing it for some seventeen years, Burt rolled the sleeves of Susie's onesie and carefully pulled her arms through them one at a time. She immediately stuck her fist in her mouth as he released her second arm and he began snapping the garment closed, tucking an errant foot back in the leg hole as he did.

It was funny: almost from day one, Kurt had definitely helped whoever was dressing him to do it more quickly, to the point that he was practically dressing himself by the time he could walk. Susie on the other hand liked to flail her legs and pull her hands away when she was being dressed. He got the feeling she'd definitely prefer to be a naked baby.

"So, we're, like, not going to be expected to do that, right?" Finn asked. He looked damn awkward sitting on that couch with his knees pulled up like that. "Change diapers, I mean. It's kind of gross."

"Honey, you pooed on your father the first time he changed your diaper and he never once complained," Carole said as she shifted the position of that water heating pad thing the nurses had hooked her up with. Burt didn't remember Elizabeth having one of those when Kurt was born, so he figured it was either a newer invention or something they only gave to C-section patients.

Finn flinched. "Yeah, so not helping with that."

"You'll help your mother with anything she asks you to do. We're all grown men here," Burt said, making sure each of the boys met his eyes before continuing. "You can handle it."

"Besides, changing Susan's diapers won't be anything near the adventure it was changing yours," Carole said with a pointed look at Finn. "I swear, half the time anyone went to change your diaper you'd pee in their face. As soon as the cool air hit your bottom, bam! A jet of pee would come flying out of you."

Kurt and Blaine both choked back snickers as Finn turned red. He almost perfectly matched his letterman jacket.

Burt chuckled and checked the temperature of the tiny bottle of yellow colostrum he'd had Blaine put in a cup of hot water a few minutes ago. "Don't get too comfortable there, Kurt. You were just about as bad your first couple of months." Kurt stopped laughing and turned a darker red than Finn. "You got your Aunt Karen right in the eye once."

"Well, I never did like her much," Kurt said loftily, tilting his chin up in defense. "Apparently my disdain for her simply started sooner than even I thought."

Blaine grinned at him and got up to rub his shoulders. "Male babies are kind of prone to that. I was peed on a couple of times babysitting some of my younger cousins," he said lightly. "It's not a big deal."

"Now I'm definitely not changing her diapers," Finn said with a shudder. "I'll help with other stuff, but I'm not doing that."

"Yeah, you say that now," Burt said ominously. He picked up the baby and held the bottle out. "Any of you boys want to try feeding her?"

Kurt and Finn looked nervous and a little petrified, but Blaine's face lit up like Christmas. Burt handed him the bottle and carefully cradled Susie into the crook of Blaine's arm. Even Carole hadn't looked quite so excited the first time Susie ate.

Blaine held the nipple of the bottle to her lips and tried to coax her to open her mouth to it, but Susie turned her head away and whimpered, attempting to squirm away in her swaddle. Burt really hoped this wouldn't be one of the times Susie refused to eat despite wailing like she was starving.

"It's all right, SuLee, milk is good for you," Blaine almost sang to her, rubbing the tip of the nipple along her lower lip in an odd pattern. She opened her mouth almost immediately and started sucking.

"Would you look at that," Burt muttered to himself. "How'd you know that would work?"

Blaine blushed a bit and Burt caught him stopping himself from looking at Kurt. "Um, I wasn't sure it would, but it was just something I thought might work."

Kurt shifted and quickly walked over to join Finn on the couch.

Burt didn't want to know.

"Well, you'll have to show me later. It'll be nice not having to stress about her not eating when she's hungry."

"Of course," Blaine said, barely looking up from his awed gaze at Susie. Burt had certainly never expected the kid to take to her as well as he had. He just hoped Kurt and Finn would pick up a little of that and stop looking like the world was ending anytime someone mentioned one of them holding the baby. They wouldn't break her.

"So, when are you guys going to come home?" Finn said, fiddling with a water bottle he'd bought downstairs.

"After tomorrow Susie's probably going to check out. She's eating now and they just have a few more tests they want to run. It's pretty much just me we're waiting on," Carole said. Burt noticed her eyes drooping a bit. He'd have to kick the boys out soon so she could sleep. Lord knew she never allow herself to rest while they were here.

"Wait, I thought you said you were fine," Finn really needed to calm down.

"She is," Burt said, dragging the boy's slightly panicked gaze away from his mom. "But our insurance will pay for up to four days for her in the hospital cause she had a C-section."

"And as terrible as the food is, I am not giving up this bed before I have to." As if to prove her point, Carole reached up to push the button that moved the head of the bed down. Burt was definitely kicking the boys out once Susie finished with her bottle.

"You know, we can always bring you something from home," Kurt said. "I found a recipe recently for a great-looking soup I've been wanting to try. I can make it tomorrow and bring it for lunch."

"That sounds wonderful," Carole smiled. "Why don't you bring enough for everyone and we'll make it a family meal?"

Kurt grinned and nodded, always eager to play the caregiver. Except when it came to the baby of course. Susie made a little discontented sound.

"Oh, do you have a burp?" Blaine asked her, quickly setting down the bottle and tilting her upward so he could pat her back. Burt wondered just how many babies he'd taken care of before. Teenage boys were usually the last people Burt thought about asking to babysit, but Blaine was handling Susie like a pro.

Susie quickly let out a belch even Burt could hear from four feet away.

"Good girl, SuLee. Do you want more?" Blaine picked up the bottle and got her to suck on it again. Maybe they should put Blaine in charge of feeding her all the time. Burt didn't think the baby had ever eaten this much in one go.

In next to no time, Susie had emptied the bottle and Blaine set her back in the plastic bassinet/cart thing the hospital had provided, gently readjusting her cap before standing up straight again. Burt clapped him on the shoulder.

"All right, I love that you boys gave up your Friday night to come here, and thank you, Blaine for actually getting Susie to eat a whole bottle," the boy beamed at him and Burt made a mental note to give him praise more often; he hadn't been smiling as much recently as he used to. Not since his asshole dad came by at Christmas. "But now I'm kicking you all out."

"Burt-" Carole started.

"No, you need your rest. And I'm sure there's some party somewhere the boys are missing out on. As long as you're all safe and you don't drink anything I don't really care how late you stay out tonight." Finn in particular looked excited at this prospect. "I'm turning a blind eye this once cause a lot's gonna change when we get home. I'm trusting you." He looked at Kurt a bit longer than the other two when he said this, not in the least liking the way his eyes lit up when he glanced at Blaine.

The boys all quickly made sounds of agreement, gathering their coats and giving Carole quick hugs before they left. Finn even risked petting Susie's head on his way out, snatching his hand back quickly after he touched her as though he was afraid to wake her up from her almost instant nap.

Burt smiled. They'd all be fine.


	2. Cry, Baby

**To some degree, Finn is me in this chapter. I'm always up late reading fanfiction when my brother or sister-in-law drag themselves out of bed for my niece's midnight-ish feeding. It's a bit awkward. Tonight I get to do her midnight-ish feeding. That should be interesting. Probably won't stop my sister-in-law from telling my niece her Auntie is laughing at her, though.**

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><p>Finn stumbled downstairs, doing his best to keep quiet and not wake anybody up. His mom would kill him if she knew he was up this late on a school night. Hell, Kurt might kill him for it. He was always going on about REM cycles and the importance of beauty sleep, but Finn usually tuned him out. He was a dude, after all; beauty was for girls. And Kurt, apparently.<p>

Carefully opening the cupboard, Finn pulled out a glass and set it on the counter before moving to get some milk from the fridge. It wouldn't be as good as the spicy warm stuff Kurt always made, but Finn could really use some milk right now. Killing zombies was always easier with milk.

Just as he opened the fridge, spilling light across the kitchen and into the hallway, Leeloo started crying.

Finn jumped and guiltily looked over his shoulder, but Burt and his mom were still in their room with the bassinet they'd set up for the baby's first few months. He sighed and felt a bit stupid, but pulled the milk container out and started pouring himself a glass.

It was kind of weird living with a baby. For the first few days after his mom and Leeloo came home, Finn had trouble connecting the facts that he now had a sister and that she was actually a person and not some gadget Burt brought home from an electronic sale.

It didn't help that for the first few days after she came home Finn hardly ever saw her. She was just kind of there, in his mom and Burt's room, sleeping all the time. She certainly didn't act like a person. Yeah, she was a baby, but even babies did stuff, right? Real people certainly did stuff. Leeloo just kinda lay there and squirmed.

Not for the first time, Finn was jealous of Blaine. Not only had he been there for the baby's birth, but he took to her instantly. He was like some kind of super dad, except he wasn't actually Leeloo's dad. That would be really weird. But he was so good with her, right from the start. To be perfectly honest, Finn was still kinda scared of her. She was just so… breakable.

Leeloo's crying got louder and more indignant for a moment and Finn smiled to himself. Before she was born he'd been leery of her wailing all the time, but he actually sort of liked the sound of her cries. They were so cute. He figured they might get more obnoxious the older she got, but at this point, when she sounded so high-pitched and pathetic, he could hardly resist the urge to go, "Aww!" and cuddle her until she stopped. Which was probably the point, really. Some sort of evolution thing or something. Didn't mean he wasn't still afraid to touch her, though.

Finn drained his glass and poured another, sloshing milk onto the counter when the kitchen light suddenly switched on and Burt appeared in the doorway.

"The baby didn't wake you up, did she?"

"Um."

"Sorry about that. She's ravenous tonight. It's a good thing your mom is a dairy queen or we'd go broke buying formula all the time."

Yeah, Finn would rather not think about that. If he did, he'd have to think about what that meant, which would mean thinking about his mom's boobs, which might make him stop liking Rachel's boobs so much and that would suck. He didn't want to stop liking Rachel's boobs. They were nice.

Finn grinned awkwardly and set the milk down. Burt tossed him a dish towel to clean up his mess and opened up the fridge to take out one of those baggies of breast milk that had started to take up room on the shelves.

There was another weird thing he had to get used to: milk from his mom sharing space with the milk he drank. He really didn't want to think about it.

"So, is it, like, not normal for her to be eating so much?" Finn asked more to keep Burt distracted from why he was up so late than because he was actually curious.

"Nah, it's pretty normal, especially this early on. In a few weeks she'll start sleeping more for longer periods of time, but right now she needs to eat a lot cause she's spending so much energy growing, and since her belly's so tiny she needs to eat smaller meals more regularly."

"Huh."

It made sense. Finn was just glad Kurt wasn't here to ask him what his excuse for eating so much was.

Burt carefully poured some of the yellowy milk from the baggy into one of those tiny bottles they were using and eyeballed the amount according to the measuring marks on the side. For some reason Burt and his mom were super paranoid about how much Leeloo drank at once, which probably made sense, but he didn't understand why the bottles looked more like something from his old science class than actual baby bottles.

With decisive movements, Burt zipped the top of the baggy back up and screwed a nipple – Finn couldn't believe they were actually called _nipples_ – on the bottle before stashing the bag back in the fridge.

"Don't stay up all night playing video games," Burt tossed over his shoulder as he moved to leave the room. "I won't protect you from your mom if you fail any tests cause you were too busy shooting aliens or whatever."

Finn froze, sure his eyes were bugging out of his head. He thought he hadn't gotten caught.

Wait, Burt hadn't said he was in trouble, had he?

Leeloo's cries dwindled down to her weird monkey grunt-whimpers and Finn shrugged his shoulders. He had more zombies to kill.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think!<strong>


	3. Milk Bath

It wasn't nice, or fair, but Burt couldn't stop laughing.

"You're not helping, here," Carole said in amused exasperation as she readjusted her nipple into Susan's mouth yet again. The baby's head was almost completely covered in breast milk.

"It's kind of hard not to laugh when you keep fire-hosing our daughter like that," Burt chortled, laughing harder when an odd sounding snort came out of his nose.

"Shut up. I never had this problem with Finn. I could barely produce enough breast milk to feed him this way at all."

Burt grinned and handed her another burping cloth, tossing the one they had been using in the laundry bin. It was completely soaked through.

"Is mommy torturing you, Susie Lee? Did you just get a milk bath?"

Carole swatted at him with her free arm, making the baby mewl in protest.

"What are you doing in there?" Kurt's voice floated through their bedroom door. "You keep laughing and the baby keeps making these weird grunting noises."

Burt and Carole looked at each other and burst into laughter again.

"Dude, do you really want to know?" Finn's voice attempted to whisper.

Burt wiped tears from his eyes and attempted to calm himself enough to speak. "Don't worry, Finn. Your mother is just torturing your sister. Everything's fine."

"And you're laughing at that?"

Susie mewled again and Carole readjusted her head where it was propped on her arm. Her nipple popped out of the baby's mouth again and a jet of milk almost sprayed her in the eye.

"Oh, for Pete's sake!"

"Here, give her to me. I'll give her a bottle and you can figure yourself out."

"Very funny," Carole mock-glared, handing the baby over and quickly reaching for her breast pump.

Burt snatched up the bottle they had warm and waiting just in case and nudged the baby's fists out of her mouth. Susan started suckling greedily.

The boys were muttering quietly about something outside the door and Burt strode over to open it one-handed, careful to use his body to block their sight into the room.

Kurt and Finn were standing off in front of the doorway like a couple of cartoon characters having an argument. Blaine was reading a book out in the living room, glancing up at Burt in amusement when they startled and turned to him.

"Hey, Kurt, you wanna pick out something new for Susan to wear? Her current outfit's a bit damp."

The boys looked down at the baby and furrowed their brows in confusion. The top part of Susie's onesie was covered in milk and the receiving blanket she was wrapped in wasn't much better. Kurt gave Burt a suspicious look before shaking his head and walking over to the box he was storing the baby clothes in. Burt still hadn't managed to convince him that it would make more sense to keep them in his and Carole's room where the baby was actually sleeping.

"I don't want to know," Kurt said, deftly picking out a purple outfit and snagging her portable changing pad before walking toward the kitchen table. Burt followed him, checking to see where Susan was with her bottle. He couldn't very well give her a bath with a bottle clamped in her mouth.

When she was done, Burt chuckled again and set the bottle down, burping her quickly before laying the baby carefully on the changing pad so he could strip her and give her a bath in the kitchen sink.

Carole was so not going to hear the end of this.

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><p><strong>Thoughts?<strong>


	4. Mother's Helpers

**Sorry! **

**I've had this written and sitting by my laptop for more than a month now trying to work up the motivation to type and post it. Unfortunately, YA steampunk trilogies about an AU version of WWI are hell for working up the motivation to do anything other than read them. *sigh***

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><p>Carole propped her left arm on the mattress and pushed herself up with her right.<p>

Fuck that hurt.

Careful not to use the muscles in her lower abdomen, she twisted her legs off the bed and patted her feet through the air until one of them hit the steps Burt had built for her side of the bed. _Why_ did she think getting a mattress that put their bed almost four feet off the ground was a good idea again? At least their bedroom was on the main level of the house so she didn't have to go up and down stairs every day. And thank god for en suite bathrooms.

Walking slowly but purposefully out into the living room, Carole saw Finn and Blaine attempting to set something up by the TV.

"Hey, how was your nap?" Blaine asked, dropping his bunch of wires and making Finn's eyes bug out.

"Dude! It'll take us ages to sort these all out again."

Blaine immediately turned back around to try to fix whatever damage he'd done as Finn anxiously sorted through whatever he was doing. Carole didn't want to know.

"It was fine," she said, moving toward the kitchen. "Has the baby-"

"Kurt's feeding her. I think he might have taken her up to his room to do a tutorial on fabric quality or something," Blaine grinned, rolling his eyes and accepting a new bunch of wires Finn placed in his hand.

"Yeah. He was pissed when she threw up on him the other day," Finn said.

"I told him not to hold her like that."

"I thought that's how you were supposed to hold babies."

"Not necessarily."

Carole smiled at how well the two were getting along and took advantage of their distraction to pad into the kitchen. She hoped the boys hadn't eaten all her snack food.

She had been reluctant at first to move Susan's bassinet out into the living room when the boys were home, but Kurt and Blaine had both insisted they could babysit and take care of feedings while Carole caught up on some much needed sleep. Even Finn had been supportive of the idea, though Carole knew he was still too afraid to hold or do anything else with the baby without either her or Burt around. Still, she loved that he was trying.

Carole leaned against the island and munched on an apple and some fancy cheese she'd found in the fridge.

She had no idea how she did this the first time with hardly any help at all. Raising a baby was exhausting, even with all the extra help she was getting. But the boys were amazing. Burt was amazing. He was so excited to be a dad. He loved all of it, even changing Susie's diapers. And the faces he made at her while he tickled her feet to keep her awake while she was breastfeeding… his pure enthusiasm for being a father made Carole's heart soar.

Chris had been excited to be a dad of course, but he hadn't had any clue what he was doing, and he'd only been home on leave to meet Finn once before he died. Those few weeks had felt wonderful at the time, a promise of what the future might bring when Chris was finally discharged, but thinking back on them, Carole had long felt like they were a betrayal. It took until after she married Burt to stop wishing she hadn't had those last few weeks at all.

Kurt entered the kitchen slowly, Susan swaddled safely in his arms, and deposited a mostly empty bottle of milk by the sink before adjusting her hat.

"She hates these hats," he said ruefully. "She's always trying to knock them off. I swear, she actually pulled one off and threw it earlier."

Carole chuckled. "I'd believe it. Finn never liked to wear them when he was little either. Eventually I just gave up trying to make him."

"And here I'd hoped she'd take more after me," Kurt sighed.

"How much did she eat?"

"Maybe fifty? She tried to spit up on me again halfway through, so I can't be too sure. Brat," he said, mock glaring at Susan while she blinked up at him and yawned.

"Try holding her more upright," Carole suggested, popping another cube of some kind of cheese into her mouth. She thought it might be Gouda.

It was funny; when she was pregnant the boys had monitored her diet closely, Kurt even going so far as to interpret the no soft cheese restriction as no cheese at all, banning most dairy products from the house completely. Now that Susie was out, Carole and Finn were definitely over-compensating for having to sneak cheese like druggies on some sort of binge, but Carole at least couldn't help herself. She popped another cheese cube into her mouth and hummed lightly.

"I thought I was," Kurt said, cautiously repositioning the baby so she was practically sitting upright in his arms. "Personally I think she just likes to throw up on me."

Carole chuckled and moved off the island to pour herself some juice. It was the sweetest thing Kurt allowed in the house, which had genuinely helped her lose some weight in the past, but sometimes she just wanted something bad for her, like pop. Or a milkshake. Ooo, root beer float. She hadn't had one of those in ages.

"I'd get used to it if I were you," she said, pausing to take a drink. "She'll only get more disgusting in unexpected ways the older she gets. And just wait until she's old enough to start feeding herself. That's when mealtimes get really interesting."

"Well, at least I won't be around much for that. I'd hate to get carrot puree on my True Religion jeans."

Carole's heart clenched at the sudden reminder that the boys would be gone in six months. Shaking it off, she eased Susan out of Kurt's arms and cradled her in her own, using a corner of the burping cloth Kurt had draped over her to clean a bit of drool off her chin.

Kurt cured his lip slightly, but the look in his eyes was pure affection. Carole wondered if he imagined his future of playing house with Blaine when he took care of the baby the way she was certain the shorter teen did.

The doorbell rang and Finn shouted something, causing Kurt to raise an eyebrow.

"If that's Rachel making some sort of ill-advised booty-call I'll have strong words for both of them."

Carole swatted at him with the burping cloth, making him squawk in protest. She didn't want to think about her baby boy getting booty-calls, however true that fact might be.

Blaine strode into the kitchen excitedly and placed a box down on the table.

"Kurt, could you pass me one of those knives?"

Kurt did so, peering at the box curiously.

"Is that what was at the door?" Carole asked.

"Yeah. I heard you and Burt talking about how much milk you were producing, so I did a little research and found this."

He pulled a smaller purple box out of the packing material and opened it quickly, removing a clear plastic case and opening it to reveal an ovalish silicone cup thing with a hole on the flat side.

"A Milkie?" Kurt asked, flipping the box over to read the back. "What the hell is it?"

"It's for when she's breastfeeding," Blaine grinned, holding it so Carole could get a better look at it. "You wear this on the breast SuLee isn't eating from and it catches the milk you produce in the little cup so you can save it and feed it to her later instead of having it go all over your clothes."

"Dude! I didn't need to hear that!" Finn wailed, leaving the room. Carole hadn't even noticed him come in.

"Wait. Milk comes out both sides at once?" Kurt asked, giving the Milkie a hard stare as though it were to blame.

"Apparently," Blaine shrugged.

Carole smiled at Blaine and accepted the Milkie with her free hand, turning it around to examine it more closely. "Thank you Blaine, that's very sweet of you. I'll have to try it out later."

"Anything to help," he grinned.

Kurt stopped staring at the Milkie in horrified fascination and turned an adoring smile to his boyfriend. "I love you."

Blaine's smile softened as he turned his attention to Kurt and moved to put his arms around him. Carole quickly placed the Milkie on Susan's belly and grabbed her juice and a bag of dried fruit – oh, how she missed potato chips –before she exited the room. The boys didn't need her grinning dopily at them and ruining their moment.

Besides, now that she was awake she had her own special person to cuddle with.

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><p><strong>The ending's a bit shite and feels like a blatant advertisement for that product, but whatever. Thoughts?<strong>


	5. Diaper Change

**I just have to say, I adored the Chris/Carole backstory in the last episode. It makes this verse even more AU, but the pain and distress and confusion Carole must have gone through at the time (and at any time she talked to Finn about his dad) just breaks my heart. I'm so glad she has Burt now. The unspoken comfort and support he gave her in that scene... the pair of them really are up there with my favorite couples. I wish the show would feature them more.**

**So I originally sat down to work on a different chapter of this fic when this one elbowed its way into my consciousness. I wrote it in about half an hour. If I can get my muse back on track I should have the next chapter out within the next few days.**

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><p>Finn looked down at the baby in despair.<p>

It was okay. He could do this. He just had to man up and get it over with.

Leeloo wailed again, louder this time, and Finn gritted his teeth.

He'd tried everything: feeding her, burping her, walking with her, singing to her, even dancing with her awkwardly in the living room. There was only one thing left he could think of to shut her up.

With one final, desperate glance toward the garage door, Finn took a breath and unsnapped the first snap on Leeloo's outfit.

Due to a series of seemingly unconnected events, Finn found himself alone in the house with the baby that afternoon. Burt had an emergency come up at work and Kurt and Blaine had decided his mom needed to get out of the house for a while, so the three of them were making a girl's day of it and going all over town together, though what Blaine wanted with a girl's day out Finn had no idea.

He probably just wanted to get into Kurt's pants again.

Finn knew Kurt had spent the night in Blaine's room the whole time Burt and his mom were still in the hospital after Leeloo was born, but he tried to pretend he hadn't heard what he heard on a couple of occasions that weekend. It was weird enough knowing they were having sex, let alone knowing they were having sex while he was in the house. Finn had become very good about wearing headphones when he went to bed at night. Just in case.

Leeloo wailed and flung a leg in the direction of his arm, popping her foot out of that side of her pajama thing in the process. He grimaced and unsnapped the last snap holding her other leg in the onesie.

Finn had become a lot better about being around the baby in the past couple of weeks, even feeding her a bottle a few times when everybody else seemed distracted by other things, but so far he'd been able to hand her off when she cried too hard or her diaper needed changing.

He always watched from a safe distance when anybody changed her diaper, and so far it looked more like she peed and pooped on her clothes mid-diaper change rather than on whoever was changing her, but Finn was still hesitant to do it himself. He didn't want to be the exception.

Once he had her bottom half out of the footie things, he looked around one last time to make sure he had everything. New diaper, check. Wet wipe things, check. Diaper Genie already open for quick disposal, check.

Taking another deep breath, Finn triple checked that he knew which side of the diaper was the front and which was the back and turned back to the baby.

He could do this.

Slowly and carefully, Finn undid the little sticky flap things that kept her diaper on and gathered both her feet in one hand like he'd seen Burt and his mom do a hundred times before. Something dark rolled off her belly settled in the blanket beneath her.

That wasn't…

Finn moved her legs back down and looked at her belly. The blackened, pinched-off stub of her belly button was gone, leaving a small mound of pink flesh and a slight trickle of blood behind.

He bit down his panic and used a corner of the wet wipe he already had out to dab at the spot.

His mom had said the black stub would fall off eventually, but for some reason Finn hadn't thought it would actually, like, fall off.

It figured it would happen when he was home alone with her.

Finn inhaled again and decided to ignore the black thing on the blanket, resolutely returning to the dreaded task before him.

He peeled the diaper out from between her legs and glanced into it the way his mom always did.

Huh. It wasn't quite as gross as he'd always been afraid of.

Gingerly, Finn tucked the top half of the dirty diaper under Leeloo's butt and left it there the way he'd seen Blaine do, then picked up the wet wipe again and swiped it over her bottom, trying to be careful to go front to back so she didn't get an infection or something in her tiny girly parts.

Finn almost sighed in relief that he'd got through this much of the process relatively unscathed, but the next thing he had to do was switch out the diapers and try to figure out how to close the new one so it wouldn't fall off. And he had to do it all one-handed.

Gearing himself up the way he did before an important play in a game, Finn switched out the diapers and secured her in the new one in what felt like record time. The little sticky flaps even stayed in place.

Leeloo gurgled happily and wiggled her legs back and forth, almost hitting the dirty diaper with the heel of her foot. Finn quickly bundled it up like he'd seen Kurt do and tossed it in the diaper genie, closing the plastic device with a self-satisfied grin.

That wasn't as bad as he thought.

Finn quickly fought Leeloo's feet back into her pajama thing and closed it up. He gave the blackened belly button another leery glance and decided to let his mom handle it when she got home. He had a little sister to take care of in the meantime.

She cooed at him and he picked her up, cooing right back at her.

He could totally do this big brother thing.

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><p><strong>So my niece recently had a day brought to her by the letter P. She went through about four outfits because she puked on one, pooed on one and then peed on two others. It's a good thing my sister-in-law has an amazing sense of humor.<strong>


	6. The Go To Babysitter

**I got the inspiration for this one of the first nights I fed my niece. For a while I was afraid I left writing it too long, but I'm fairly pleased with the way it came out.**

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><p>The house was quiet, nearly everyone in it asleep and oblivious to the gentle breeze blowing through the neighbor's back porch collection of wind chimes. Blaine noted their random melody absentmindedly and stroked his hand down the baby's back.<p>

SuLee had finished her bottle almost fifteen minutes ago, but Blaine couldn't bring himself to get up and put her back in her crib just yet. There was something calming about her small warm weight cuddled up to his chest, her tiny fingernails scraping the skin of his neck lightly as she held on to the collar of his shirt. She burbled and scrunched her nose up in her sleep.

Blaine sighed quietly. He loved babies.

A footstep creaked at the door and Blaine looked up to see Kurt peeking around the frame at him.

"I wondered if you were the one in here with her," he said quietly.

"Couldn't resist," Blaine shrugged. "Besides, I figured your parents could do with the extra sleep."

Kurt hummed and sat himself on the footstool next to the glider Blaine had decided he might try to commandeer in a couple years' time.

The room was almost completely dark, dimly lit only by a lamp turned down to the lowest setting and the streetlight shining through the mostly closed blinds on the window. Kurt's face looked particularly angelic in this lighting and Blaine had to stop himself from leaning over and kissing him softly. These days soft kisses between the two of them rarely stayed that way for long, and Blaine was loathe to lose the weight of SuLee on his chest so soon. Kisses and lovemaking could wait till later.

"You're really great with her," Kurt said softly, tilting his head in that way Blaine adored. "I wouldn't have expected you to be such a natural at it. Of course you are good at everything, so…"

Blaine smiled at Kurt's flirting and adjusted SuLee's head slightly.

"Almost everything I know I learned babysitting my younger cousins. I've spent almost half my life looking after other people's children."

Kurt leaned back and looked at him expectantly, but didn't say anything. Blaine huffed out a quiet laugh and smiled. He loved how quietly supportive Kurt could be when he let himself.

"When I was nine, my cousin Samantha was supposed to be looking after me and her little brother and sister, but she had just got together with her first boyfriend so she kind of left us to look after ourselves while she made out with him in the living room."

"That was responsible of her."

"Yeah," Blaine chuckled. "She got in so much trouble when her parents came home."

"But you took care of things?"

Blaine shrugged. "They looked up to me. I'm three years older than the oldest one, Zach, and – I don't know. I always kind of wanted a younger brother to hang out with. Do stuff with. And even today Rebecca is the cutest thing ever. Though this one is definitely giving her competition," he said, looking down at SuLee and giving her a gentle squeeze. She grunted. "Honestly, I just thought I was playing with them at the time. Though looking back on it I did stop Zach from setting the kitchen on fire," he grinned.

"So how does that translate into you babysitting all the time?"

"Sometime in the middle of everybody yelling at Samantha my aunt noticed I had my younger cousins completely distracted with an art project in the other room. I was showing them how to make this lion thing we'd done at school that week and they were eating it up. So, the next time they needed a babysitter they called me. Then my other aunt called me to babysit her toddler and eventually it just became a standard thing to call me when any of the kids needed looking after."

"And you loved it," Kurt smiled softly.

"I did," Blaine hummed. "Kids are a lot easier to deal with than adults. Their needs are simpler. Or at least less complicated. And they love to hear me sing," he grinned.

"Of course."

They smiled at each other for a moment, Kurt's eyes sparkling gaily in the dim light. Blaine loved it when Kurt's eyes shone like that. It made his entire world brighter knowing that Kurt was happy, that he helped make Kurt that happy.

"I love you."

Kurt blinked in surprise but his smile widened. "I love you too."

"I just… um," Blaine looked down quickly, wondering why the hell he was saying this, but he reminded himself that he'd given his future over to Kurt entirely a few months ago. If he couldn't tell the boy what he was thinking he didn't know what he was doing here. "Do you ever think of us like this? In the future I mean. Married with kids and maybe a dog or something?"

Kurt blinked again and his mouth briefly dropped open. Blaine felt like such a sap, but he loved it when he could make Kurt do that. It gave him such a high knowing he had the power to make Kurt speechless, even if just for a moment.

"You want that? With me?"

Kurt was so ridiculously charming when he was flustered like this.

"Of course with you, dummy. Who else would I want it with?"

Kurt smiled to himself and looked away for a moment, his gaze returning to Blaine's with an intensity that made heat pool near Blaine's groin. SuLee sighed loudly and Blaine reminded himself that now was not the time.

"You know, I have been telling everyone for months now that I expect to be married by the time I'm thirty. I did kind of assume it would be to you."

Blaine's heart swelled at the sentiment and his breath caught at the teasing smirk curling the corner of Kurt's mouth. Did everyone feel this combination of adoration and lust when looking at the person they loved?

"Should I take that to mean I need to plan a proposal at some point?"

Kurt's jaw dropped again, but he recovered faster this time, shrugging his shoulders dramatically and rubbing his lips together. Blaine wondered if he did that last on purpose.

"I thought we'd just play it by ear."

"I can deal with that," Blaine grinned.

With a quick glance to the clock to keep his mind from descending any further in the direction of Kurt's pants, Blaine saw that it was almost 1:30 and sighed. He was probably going to have an exhaustion headache tomorrow.

Blaine stood slowly, careful not to jostle the baby awake again, and moved to set her back in her crib. When he turned around, Kurt was already filling out the whiteboard they'd set up by the door so everyone would know when the last time SuLee ate was and how much she'd had. Since they'd instituted the system, everyone's stress levels had decreased, especially Carole's.

"Thanks."

Kurt grinned, nodding and glancing in the direction of the crib. Blaine looked back at it and took away the burp cloth that was still lying on SuLee's chest. She probably wouldn't smother herself with it, but there was no sense taking the chance.

When he turned back to his boyfriend, Kurt's eyes had softened. "Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?" Blaine blinked.

"Babysitting your cousins."

Blaine sighed and looked back at SuLee. She had one hand poised in the air like a dead rat.

"Yes," he said quietly. "And no. Mostly I'm worried how my leaving has affected them. Whether or not they'll grow up to be as bigoted as their parents without me around to give them an alternative example."

He felt Kurt's arms snake around him from behind and leaned back, reveling the light kiss he felt on the side of his neck.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. They had you helping to raise them for the first part of their lives. Surely they'll wonder who was more wrong in the fight and come to the right conclusion."

Blaine snorted softly.

"You really think that?"

"No. But I want to."

Blaine turned around and buried his face in Kurt's neck. Fuck he loved the way this boy smelled.

"I want to too."

The wind chimes tinkled in the distance, innocently reminding the world that the night was not perfectly still. In the nursery, Blaine held his boyfriend and felt at peace.

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><p><strong>Thoughts?<strong>


	7. Teething Pain

**RL has been distracting as hell. I have so many things written and started and almost none of them typed. Here's to hoping I can figure out some kind of semi-regular writing/posting schedule again.**

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><p>Susie would not stop screaming.<p>

Groaning in frustration and opening his eyes to glare blearily at the clock, Kurt swore to himself that Blaine would have one hell of a fight when he decided he wanted children because at this rate Kurt might be lucky to get a couple hours of sleep before his history midterm tomorrow and that was just not acceptable.

He knew he was being far bitchier than usual, but his nightly skincare routine could only cover up so much sleep deprivation. It was going on three days since he'd had a full night's sleep and at this rate Kurt was about ready to evict Blaine from his bed downstairs solely so he could get some rest. It was one thing, after all, for Blaine to make sympathetic noises about Susie's obvious discomfort, but he didn't sleep down the hall from her wails. Kurt was convinced the brat was half banshee.

Needless to say, Kurt's patience for his sister's teething pains was swiftly running thin.

Irritably, Kurt rolled over again and attempted to bury his head under his extra pillows. It hardly made a difference, though squishing his hand into the pillows to press them further into his head helped a little. It also made it difficult to breathe.

Kurt exhaled a loud sigh and threw the offending pillow into the darkness of his room.

Fuck he was tired.

He didn't know if it was minutes or hours later that he heard the familiar sound of Blaine's voice singing something softly down the hall.

Kurt sighed in relief, swung his legs to the floor and quickly exited the room.

"Blaine, honey, I don't care where you sleep tonight but I'm stealing your bed," he said, poking his head around the doorframe of Susie's bedroom to see his boyfriend handing the baby off to Carole.

"Has she been keeping you awake?" Carole asked, her forehead crumpling in worry.

"I've always been a light sleeper," Kurt shrugged. "I just don't think I can take any more tonight."

"If you want to switch rooms for a while that's fine," Blaine said, helpful and giving as ever. "I can take yours. I'll be closer to SuLee this way anyway."

"No, you won't," Carole said, firm mother voice in place as she absentmindedly gave Susie a toy to gnaw on, mercifully shutting her up for a moment. "You'll both go downstairs and go to bed because you both have school in the morning. Kurt, I know your dad doesn't like you two sleeping together and I don't blame him, but as long as all that goes on is sleeping I can't see the harm of it. Maybe if you're down there with him Blaine'll actually stay in bed the whole night for once."

Blaine blushed and fidgeted under her glare. It was true that he was taking his responsibilities to Susie way too seriously, and as cute as Kurt found it when he was well-rested, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"That settles it, then," he said, taking Blaine's hand and pulling him out into the hallway. "Night, Carole!"

"Goodnight, boys."

"Kurt-"

"We have official parental permission to share a bed for the night. Do you really want to question it?"

Blaine laughed and squeezed his hand tighter, increasing his pace so they were practically on top of each other going down the stairs.

"I'm sorry SuLee's been keeping you up at night," Blaine said as they closed his bedroom door behind them. "If I'd known it was this bad-"

Kurt put a finger to his lips and dragged him to the bed. "Shut up. It works out better this way. We get to cuddle all night and wake up next to each other in the morning. Now get into bed so I can spoon you."

Blaine smiled and kissed him lightly. "I like being your teddy. I always sleep better in your arms."

"Me too."

Kurt smiled and pushed Blaine lightly in the middle of his chest so he fell back onto the mattress. He didn't hesitate falling into his outstretched arms and curling himself around him. He was almost asleep before he remembered something he wanted to say.

"Blaine?"

"Mm?"

"When we have kids, you get night duty."


	8. Cuddle Time

**This is mostly just a (choppy as hell) thought piece, but I wanted to get something out there again. Besides, it's Burt.**

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><p>Finn liked to comment whenever anyone held Susan this way that she looked like a koala bear. It always made Carole smile when he said that, but Burt had to give the boy credit; with her legs curled up, her hands gripping shirt material and her head turned to one side, she really did look something like a koala bear. Even Kurt hadn't been this freaking cute when he was a baby, and he'd had those adorable chubby cheeks everyone loved to pinch and kiss all the time.<p>

Susie snuffled against his chest and let out a contented coo. Burt turned his attention away from the TV and hummed back.

He loved cuddle time. It was one of his favorite things about being a father. Part of him had been crushed when Kurt hit puberty. Yes, it had taken a little longer than either of them expected, but its onset meant that Burt couldn't pull his son to his side at random times of the day and hug him just because he could. Grown guys didn't do that. It could get awkward, could be unwanted, so Burt stopped doing it.

It was a mistake, of course. Once Kurt hit puberty he had needed the extra reminder that he was loved, especially with all the disparaging messages thrown his way about whom he was designed to love and how wrong it was. He probably wasn't touched in a kind way for years after he started middle school. Burt was still ashamed of his own distance from his son at that point in his life. It was only after Kurt finally came out and started being more open with other parts of himself that Burt realized his kid missed those random hugs.

Bad habits were hard to break and new ones were harder to form, but showing his affection for his kids was one habit Burt was determined to make and hold onto. It took a while, of course, and it did wind up being awkward sometimes, but Burt thought he was getting better about showing Kurt how much he supported and loved him. He didn't hesitate to hug him now. He even reveled a bit in how embarrassed Kurt could get if he noogied him in public or hugged him in front of Blaine. Of course the kid had his own ways of getting back at him, but he didn't care. Burt was determined that Kurt would never doubt his love for him again, and if he had his way, Susie would never have cause to doubt it in the first place.

Susan was his fresh start. She was made for cuddling, really. She still slept for long stretches during the day, and though Burt knew she needed to be left to her own devices now and then to learn a little independence, he allowed himself a couple hours every night to hold her and cuddle her in his arms before someone else claimed that privilege.

Whenever Carole or one of the boys – usually Blaine, silently begging with his eyes for his own chance at baby cuddle time – complained that he was monopolizing her, Burt had no compunction pulling the doctor card. His doctor was always telling him to find more ways to relax so he didn't put too much strain on his heart. Cuddling with Susie was one of the most relaxing things he did these days what with all the extra time he was putting in getting work at the garage so the boys could all afford college.

There was something about the warm, trusting weight of his baby on his chest that healed him more than all the pills that lined his medicine cabinet. Nothing quite compared to it, and he was damn sure he'd take advantage of cradling his little girl in his arms while he still could. She'd be a toddler and a kid and a teenager before he knew it. Unless Finn messed up, she was also the last baby he'd get to hold for a while.

Susan sighed and arched her back a little as she tried to get more comfortable.

Burt patted her on the butt and hiked her slightly higher up on his chest, only now realizing that he'd completely lost track of the game he was watching earlier.

It didn't really matter, though. He had his baby in his arms. He could care less about baseball.


	9. Cradle Cap

**I finally got something typed! Now if only I can convince myself to retype the stories I lost to the evil virus. Note to everyone: the cloud is your friend. Back your shit up on the cloud. Hell, back your shit up on the cloud twice.**

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><p>Kurt scratched gently at Susie's head with one of the soft-bristled brushes someone had given her at the baby shower back in December. He worked the brush in a gentle circular motion similar to the one he used to exfoliate his own skin. It should have been relaxing, calming the same way his own skin-care regimen made him feel, but Susie fussed and moved away, batting ineffectually at the brush with one hand and making a swipe with the other at the toy Kurt was trying to distract her with. She wound up missing both and crumpling awkwardly into the side of her purple Bumbo seat.<p>

"Dude, what're you doing?"

Kurt readjusted his sister and looked up to see Finn munching on half of a grilled cheese, crumbs completely missing the empty plate he held in his other hand. He rolled his eyes fondly and went back to his careful attack on Susie's head.

"I'm trying to get rid of this awful dry skin on her scalp. Not that she's letting me," he grouched as she successfully batted the brush out of his hand. He picked it up and made a _so there_ face at her before going for her head again.

"I noticed that the other day. It's really weird. I thought babies' skin was supposed to be soft and stuff."

"It is still soft but it's drying and breaking out like crazy. I'm trying to teach her good skin care habits now so when she hits puberty her face doesn't become a minefield. I can only imagine how bad her skin will be then if it's already this bad now."

"Yeah, I didn't even know babies could get zits," Finn said as he crouched down to floor level, sandwich completely gone.

"You do know I'm starting dinner in an hour, right?" Kurt side-eyed him.

Finn looked down at his empty plate as though surprised it was there and shrugged. "I'm hungry now. Or I was. I'll be hungry again when dinner's ready."

"I'm sure you will be," Kurt huffed in exasperation.

The garage door shut with a bang and Carole waddled into the house with what looked like ten shopping bags on each arm. Finn jumped up and relieved her of half of them as she dropped the rest to the floor just inside the door.

"You could have waited for us to help you," Kurt scolded.

"I couldn't stand the thought of that door slamming shut so many times in a row. Remind me later to have your dad fix it again."

Kurt nodded and turned his attention back to Susie, who began to wail and swing her arms through the air furiously as soon as she saw him bring the brush near her again. He swore the little brat checked for Carole's reaction as she was swooped into her mom's arms.

"Were you being a pain for your brothers? That's not very nice," Carole cooed as Susie nuzzled into her sternum, completely calm now. Kurt narrowed his eyes at her and Susie turned her head away, grabbing a chunk of Carole's hair to put in her mouth.

"She was fine until a minute ago," Kurt said as Finn reentered the room to get the rest of the groceries.

"Yeah, except for her skin thing," Finn added.

"Skin thing?"

"On her head," Kurt clarified, standing up and moving the baby things out of the way so no one would trip over them. "I noticed some dry patches on her legs too, but mostly it's on her scalp."

Carole rubbed Susie's head fondly before answering. "Oh, that's just cradle cap. We'll put some oil on it for a few weeks and it should go away on its own. Her skin just needs some time to adjust to the outside world, that's all."

"Is that why Blaine was dripping milk on her the other day?" Finn asked.

Kurt and Carole both turned and looked at him like he was crazy.

"What? He was. I walked past the nursery and he was dripping milk on her head and rubbing into her skin like it was completely normal."

"He must have been reading some article about the magical powers of breast milk or something," Kurt muttered, still nonplussed.

Carole shrugged. "I can't see it doing any harm, but cooking oil worked just fine for Finn, it'll work for Susan too."

Finn looked mildly disturbed. "You put cooking oil on my head?"

"You were a baby, you didn't care. You actually thought it was kind of funny sometimes."

Kurt gave Susie a hard look and silently vowed to try out his newly-learned techniques on her later. Her skin issues might go away on their own, but that was no excuse not to be more proactive in starting her beauty regimen. Flawless skin took effort and Kurt would be damned if he had a sibling with bad skin. He just had to figure out how to convince her of that.


	10. SIDS

**Fair warning in case the title didn't warn you, this one is kinda angsty. It's just been one of those weeks.**

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><p>Carole sneaked into Susan's room and peered through the dim light to watch her daughter's sleeping face.<p>

She was still breathing.

Her chest rose and fell slowly, her lips puckered and sucked on the air in search of the pacifier that had fallen out of her mouth. She was fine.

After watching a few more moments Carole pinched her eyes shut and crossed the room to collapse into the soft glider by the window.

She was not going to cry. She wouldn't. Twenty-four years hadn't stopped the ache in her heart, but Susie wasn't Chris. She was strong and happy and healthy and everything anyone could want in a baby. Then again, Chris had been all those things too and had had the extra benefit of being born on time, not four weeks early with minor eating issues.

Carole shook her head again and wiped at her damp face. Susie was not Chris. She wouldn't die suddenly in her sleep. Carole was freaking out over nothing.

Of course, it wasn't nothing. The dream she just woke from, one of a string she thought she'd stopped having after Finn's first birthday, it wasn't nothing. It was a nightmare of the highest order, one she thought even outweighed the misery of learning about her husband's death.

There was nothing worse than losing your child.

Chris had been perfect. Completely unexpected and not entirely welcome, but perfect nonetheless. He was named after his father, the charismatic construction worker Carole met in a bar when she was twenty-one and in no way ready for a family. They'd only been dating about six months when Carole found out she was pregnant. The next year was a whirlwind of baby showers, apartment hunting and a shotgun wedding at the Justice of the Peace because everyone said that's what they should do.

It was chaotic and confusing, but they managed, and by the end of her pregnancy, Carole was excited about all the changes in her life. She'd be a mother.

She was terrified of how painful the birth would be, of course, but that was her only fear. She knew Christopher would be a great father and between the two of them they'd muddle along until they figured everything out.

Chris was a beautiful baby. He had his dad's warm brown eyes and Carole's nose and a funny habit of trying to stick his entire fist in his mouth.

Carole knew they made mistakes. The first week out of the hospital Chris was screaming bloody murder because they hadn't been cleaning him thoroughly enough during diaper changes. But they learned from their mistakes, consulted friends and family and baby books and thought they were figuring it out.

And then one night Carole put the baby to bed only to wake in a panic the next morning because he hadn't woken her for his 3 A.M. feeding.

He was dead.

He hadn't suffocated on anything during the night, he was dressed appropriately, nobody had hit him, he hadn't fallen off of anything. There was no solid evidence that anything had killed him, yet he was dead.

It was devastating.

Carole fell into a deep depression and barely let Christopher touch her for over a year. It nearly ended their marriage. In the end, Christopher joined the Marines, his long stretches away at training and on deployment a guilty relief. When Finn was born almost five years after they lost Chris, Carole hardly ever let him out of her sight. She couldn't stand to lose another child.

She lost Christopher instead.

Carole wiped the tears from her face. Finn didn't know any of this, of course. He was paranoid enough about breaking Susie somehow for her to add fears of SIDS to his list of things that could go wrong. She'd spare him that worry, maybe tell him in a few years when the threat wasn't so immediate. Or maybe she never would.

It still pained her too much to even think about it. Months ago, when she was still pregnant with Susan, she had barely been able to choke the story out to Burt.

She couldn't bear the thought of losing another child, of losing this child.

Carole quieted her breathing, needing to hear Susie's occasional soft snuffle. She'd sleep in the glider tonight, check on the baby periodically just to alleviate her fears and convince herself that she was being irrational.

It was something she simply had to do.

Susie would be fine, Carole knew she would, but she'd never stop worrying.


End file.
